Holocaust survivor stands by memory of Anne Frank

Berthe Meijer is seen during an interview with the Associated Press at her home in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Friday, March 12, 2010. Meijer, now 71, a former 6-year-old inmate of Bergen Belsen offers a rare glimpse of Anne in the final weeks of her life in the German camp, struggling to keep up her own spirits even as she tried to lift the morale of the smaller children. Meijer's memoir, being published in Dutch later this month, is the first to mention Anne's talent for spinning tales even in the despair of the camp. The memoir deals with Meijer's acquaintance with Anne Frank in only a few pages, but she said she titled it "Life After Anne Frank" because it continues the tale of Holocaust victims where the famous diary leaves off. (AP Photo/Evert Elzinga)
— AP

Berthe Meijer is seen during an interview with the Associated Press at her home in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Friday, March 12, 2010. Meijer, now 71, a former 6-year-old inmate of Bergen Belsen offers a rare glimpse of Anne in the final weeks of her life in the German camp, struggling to keep up her own spirits even as she tried to lift the morale of the smaller children. Meijer's memoir, being published in Dutch later this month, is the first to mention Anne's talent for spinning tales even in the despair of the camp. The memoir deals with Meijer's acquaintance with Anne Frank in only a few pages, but she said she titled it "Life After Anne Frank" because it continues the tale of Holocaust victims where the famous diary leaves off. (AP Photo/Evert Elzinga)
/ AP

A spokeswoman for publisher De Bezige Bij said the house stands behind Meijer "100 percent."

Suzanne Holtzer said the Bezige Bij is discussing selling publishing rights with publishers in multiple countries, including the United States.

The Anne Frank House Museum says its historians have previously interviewed Meijer and have no reason to doubt her truthfulness - but that her story is unverifiable.

Records from Yad Vashem, the Israeli Holocaust memorial authority, show that Meijer was an inmate of Bergen-Belsen for 13 months until it was liberated in April 1945.

They also show the Meijer family lived on Amsterdam's Niersstraat, the same street where Anne attended a Montessori elementary school from 1934 to 1941. Meijer says the two families were friendly acquaintances.

Psychologists say it's conceivable that if Meijer knew Frank before the war, and if she met her again in Bergen Belsen, she could form a lasting memory about it, even at a young age.

Around 140,000 Jews lived in the Netherlands before the 1940-45 Nazi occupation. Of those, 107,000 were deported to Germany and only 5,200 survived.